As promised…Here’s the part of last week’s NAR polling relating to what sellers most want to see out of their Realtors. The actual poll is attached.
The top finding that NAR found is that only 5% of sellers rely on the internet to select their agent. That’s surprising considering the plethora of tools, stats and histories that detail a Realtor’s strengths and weaknesses available online. NAR also found that the top criteria used to select a Realtor was Reputation, Honesty, Trustworthiness, and most importantly to most sellers, whether the Realtor was related by family or very close friend.
Just as in the buyer’s scenario, a seller is the one in charge of their team: The Seller’s Realtor and the Seller’s attorney. Just like the buyer, the smart seller will also want to interview a bunch of Realtors and attorneys. A seller really wants:
1. Someone who offers to make your property stand out,
2. Someone who helps you prepare the property for sale, so it hits the ground running while it’s still in NEW status, the properties highest visibility to the most buyers.
3. Someone you can trust to legally and ethically navigate the sale process, so there’s less chance a misstep can come back to bite you later in the process or even after the sale.
and
4. Someone whose personality, strategies and experience allows them to work best with you as a partner to reach your goals.
It’s not just the marketing of the property that needs to be a criteria for your Realtor. That person also needs to help you navigate the same negotiation points built into the sale process that I mentioned in last week’s buyer’s post: The Home Inspection, the P&S, the Appraisal, the Commitment Letter, etc. They also have to manage the unexpected pitfalls that sometimes pop up in the process.
In spite of the many commercials promising an absolutely smooth glide to the closing in every transaction that they handle, that glorious golden transaction rarely happens. You have two opposing sides to the transaction. The buyer wants to acquire the property for the least amount of effort and expense. The seller wants to be relieved of the property for the greatest income and least effort. That alone creates the dynamic tension for potential hiccups in the sale process. Add in a bank that wants this transaction completed along the best terms for the bank. Now add in loan programs…. Is it a Federal loan, VA, USDA, FHA, etc. which has it’s own hoops that both the buyer and seller have to jump through. The Realtor/Attorney teams for both sides have to navigate that swirling environment to bring their clients to desired end result. How can anyone promise a smooth transaction for every seller? The long and short is: They can’t. Anyone who does is selling something. Picking your cousin’s wife’s brother’s friend as your Realtor, simply because he’s your cousin’s wife’s brother’s friend is probably not your best criteria for selection.
In searching for a Realtor, you can look for recommendations on a number of sites, like Linkedin, Google Business, Realtor.com, Zillow, Facebook and tons more. Read their blog posts like this one. That will tell you a lot about their philosophy and experience. Most importantly, schedule a sit down with them and form your own impression. Your gut feelings about a person, gleaned from the face to face interview, should provide you with the best idea of a person’s trustworthiness, honesty and how well you might work together.
That face to face also is a great opportunity for a Realtor to gather information needed for comparative market analysis(CMA). In many brokerages, like mine, a CMA is a free service. A CMA details the opinion of value for your property, by looking at similar properties in your area, how much they sold for and how long they were on the market.
The Realtor with the highest dollar amount on the CMA is not necessarily the best pick for a seller. A CMA is an opinion of value, backed up by recent “sold” listings. It’s an opinion, like I said last week: If you take a car problem to 10 mechanics, you’ll get different, viable ways to fix the problem. That said, an unscrupulous person can stack the deck, at the expense of the seller, just to get the listing by inflating the promised listing price.
A specifically mentioned violation of the Realtor Code of Ethics (It’s a public document. Google: Realtor Code of Ethics. It’ll come up and anyone can read it through.) is “Buying the Listing”. This is a less than honest tactic used to secure a seller’s property and is a clear and mentioned violation of NAR’s Code of Ethics, a standard every Realtor is held to. “Buying a Listing” is when the agent proposes the highest price remotely possible on the CMA to beat out more realistic estimates of price, either using comparative properties(Comps) that price higher than the subject property is worth or by not showing any comps at all. “Buying the listing” can cost the seller the best visibility a listing gets, when it’s still NEW to the market, delaying the process unnecessarily. Best defense? Ask to see the comps and really look at them. Are they really comparable?
Listing price is important, but there’s so much more to consider. How long has a Realtor been a Realtor? What is the marketing strategy to best position the property for quick sale? How does it work? Has the Realtor sold and closed many properties like this one? Does the Realtor have attorneys they recommend and have worked with before? Will they use any enhancement services, like professional photographers, drone photographers(if applicable), staging services, professional moving and storage connections, etc. Price is an important component, but it’s not the only consideration.
The most important consideration for sellers, in my opinion, is time. Plan early. Give yourself time to think about exactly what you want. Start calling Realtors months before you think you might want to sell. People call me for CMA’s and Listing services. They also call about planned home improvements and what that might mean for the home’s value. They also call for tips and ideas on making their home more comfortable or more capable(Smarthome tech, solar, generator, etc.) The services involved in the CMA process are commonly free services and provide tons of free, valuable information for sellers. Interviewing multiple Realtors to find the best fit is a huge plus too. Taking your time also allows a seller to slowly, and with the least emotional shock, transform their property from a home into a commodity to be sold, in their mind, their hearts and in reality. Your Realtor Partner can be an enormously helpful resource every step of that journey.
I and many other Realtors offer free, no-obligation CMA services that usually include a face to face meeting, a written or emailed report detailing the opinion of value and an in depth discussion of what that Realtor can do for you. Even if the advice is to not sell right now. If it’s free, it’s for me. 🙂
Call around and do your homework. Give yourself time to think, plan and execute your agenda. The process can be fun, exciting and profitable. Once a seller finishes being a seller, they’re moving on to the next great adventure, building the next base from which they’ll launch the rest of their lives. Whatever shape that takes for each individual, it’s a powerful experience of joy and hope. That is what most sellers have as their real, ultimate goal.
Have Fun!!!
Lew McConkey,
Brook Realty, Serving Whitman Hanson& Surrounding Towns
(781)252-9789
If you have questions about your place in the current Real Estate market, as a buyer, seller or Landlord, Please feel free to call text or email for your free, no obligation consultation.
Lewmcconkeyhomes@outlook.com
www.lewmcconkeyhomes.com